EP 52: Jon Glassberg (Part 1)
Jan 25, 2021
Photo: Jessica Talley
Jon Glassberg is the owner of Louder Than Eleven, a leading media production company in the Outdoor Industry. He is also a total crusher, having climbed 400+ boulders from V10 to V14. In part one we talked about filming Emily Harrington on her in-a-day ascent of ‘Golden Gate’, about Jon’s early climbing, about pursuing the goal of V15, and about his struggle with a bizarre injury.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts
Listen to Part 2 here.
Check out other episodes with Jon:
Follow-Up: Jon Glassberg (Apr 15, 2021)
Patreon:
Follow-Ups:
thenuggetclimbing.com/follow-ups
Jerrydoodleberg:
LT11 Videos:
Louder Than Eleven YouTube Channel
‘Park Life’ Bouldering in Yosemite
Emily climbing Golden Gate (her six-day ascent in 2015)
Jorg Verhouven freeing The Nose
Jorg Verhouven on The Dihedral Wall
Babsi and Japoco freeing Magic Mushroom
‘Deep Water’ Tim Emmett and Kyra Condie in Vietnam
‘Failing in Fontainbleau’ - Jon trying The Big Island V15
Other Videos:
‘Power of Now’ V15 First Ascent (Guliano’s new boulder that Jon talked about)
Routes Mentioned:
‘Golden Gate’ 5.13b, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
‘Freerider’ 5.13a, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
‘Magic Mushroom’ 5.14a, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
‘Dihedral Wall’ 5.14a, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
‘The Nose’ 5.14a, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
‘The Dawn Wall’ 5.14d, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
‘King Air’ V10 Highball, Yosemite, CA
‘Dogwood’ V12, Yosemite, CA
’Shadow Warrior’ V12, Yosemite, CA
‘Yabo Roof’ V12, Yosemite, CA
‘Midnight Lightning’ V8, Yosemite, CA
‘The Force’ V9, Yosemite, CA
‘The Big Island’ V15, Fontainbleau, France
‘Dreamtime’ V15, Cresciano, Switzerland
‘The Understanding’ V15, Magic Wood, Switzerland
‘The Nest’ V15, Red Rocks, NV
‘Power of Now’ V15, Magic Wood, Switzerland
‘Practice of the Wild’ V15, Magic Wood, Switzerland
Jon’s Links:
Nuggets:
2:54 – Coffee, intermittent fasting, and being more productive in the morning
4:24 – Jon’s go-to breakfast on a climbing day, and on an El Cap filming day, and caffeine
6:20 – Getting back from Yosemite, and Jon’s five-year film project with Emily Harrington
8:03 – Emily’s scary fall in November 2019
13:17 – Emily climbing ‘Golden Gate’ in a day, and her dramatic fall near the top
23:23 – Emily’s grit, and how Alex Honnold is different than everyone else
28:18 – Jon’s perception of free climbing El Cap in a day, and why Emily’s accomplishment is so impressive
32:47 – Jerrydoodleberg
35:41 – Jon’s month trip to Yosemite, balancing work with climbing, and learning to be better with your time
40:32 – Being in Yosemite during covid, and the previous government shutdown
41:45 – Jon’s bouldering highlights from this Yosemite trip
44:36 – Why Jon prefers bouldering over big wall free climbing
46:41 – Existing on the side of El Cap
49:51 – Learning new systems, and being obsessed with efficiency
50:33 – Working with Steve Maisch, how Jon maintains finger strength during a shoot, and training on the Moonbaord during covid
54:40 – Jon’s training philosophy and the value of hangboarding (both physical and mental)
57:43 – The one-arm hangboard protocol Jon learned from Steve Maisch
1:00:17 – 3F drag repeaters, Jon’s finger strength, growing from 5’2” to 6’3” in a year, and building log cabins
1:04:03 – Climbing back when V12 was “hard”, Boone NC, graphic design school, early filming, and the underpants gnomes
1:09:39 – Grad school, almost buying a gym, and starting LT11
1:12:14 – The evolution of LT11, and working on his first feature film
1:17:31 – Emily’s accomplishment in context, and the history of women free climbing El Cap in a day
1:19:21 – The new school approach to big wall free climbing on El Cap, and shooting with Jorg Verhoeven
1:27:11 – The process of putting together a feature film (after filming)
1:34:35 – Balancing commercial work with storytelling
1:38:01 – The roll of a line producer, and how Jon uses Google Drive to keep track of projects
1:42:59 – Jon’s to-do list for life
1:44:43 – Jon’s V15 goal, working with Steve Maisch, and joking about weight classes in climbing
1:48:11 – ‘The Island’, Jon’s crazy injury, and crutching all over Red Rocks
1:57:06 – Jon’s limited mobility, putting on socks, and Jon’s thoughts on the wear and tear of bouldering
2:00:53 – A new philosophy for projecting, and a sample of Jon’s iconic boulders list